Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts IV

[Longhairbear]

So, the door coaster for DCA is being revived. I need to book my VFW points at one of the hotels, or VGC at Disneyland that we don't use in FLA anymore for a holiday, if there are any available places to book at this late date.
We are glad to hear Paris is holding meetings to get more guests into the parks. Someday we will get there.
We are not happy the Poly DVC will offer only studios, and Grand Villas. Unlike most DVC members we actually cook in villa. As we are in a minority, why spend the money for unused kitchens? Disney would rather we eat out anyway. I'm not sure kitchenless villas will keep DVC members on property tho...But Trader Sam's at the Poly? I'll gladly take out a second mortgage on my home to drink there. We spend a lot of time at the DLR location, and have bought all the souvenir mugs for home use. You have to buy them at Trader Sam's, they don't sell them at World Of Disney, or in Adventureland at a kiosk next to Tarzan's Treehouse.
As for losing the lobby at Poly to more square footage profit generating space, that is an industry wide trend.
We won't use Lastplace Plus, we never did use Fastpass, we don't vacation that way in FLA. We do in CA, but only occasionally. Being DVC members we don't care if we get on an attraction or not, unless it is new. And there is nothing new in FLA. Did I mention we have no plans to go to FLA? Not even the Poly DVC will get us there.

 

[Bolna]

Nah, more about getting more bodies into the resort as is, although there have been plenty of rehabs and cosmetic work done this summer. And now that it is the off-season attractions (Peter pan currently) are going down for for work, so they are not exactly ignoring everything.

But so much needs to be done ... I'll see that firsthand at holiday time!!!

Is one option of getting more people come and visit to build more new attractions? Would be nice if the "no new attractions until 2022" rumour turns out to be false.

I think part of their problem is the bizzare pricing structure they have. If you want to stay at one of their hotels you have to pay rates that are even more ridiculous than the GF at WDW. But then they offer all kind of discount deals, but they are different for all European countries. For example currently I could get 30% off through the UK website, 200 € off through the German website and 40% off through the French website. But I am free to book through any website that I wish to use...

And then they do have all kind of deals for one day tickets and there are some very affordable APs and there are discounts for AP holders to bring their friends in for a very low price.

I think they would be able to attract more people who are going to leave money in the parks on food and merchandise if they had a more reasonable pricing structure. At the moment it seems like they make the first time visitor pay through the nose while the regulars get the best deals.

 

[Darth Sidious]

@WDW1974 perhaps you know more on the topic... When Steve Burke left Disney for Comcast was it bad terms or just a better opportunity for his career? I was going to PM about this but I suppose its potentially worthy discussion here.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Experiences with the band themselves won't change..
Experiences with the App are 'real world' now...
Experiences with the workflows are 'real world' now...
Experiences with wifi signal is pretty close to real world now... wifi is being used by everyone, not just FP+ testers...
Experiences with tap to pay are real world now...
Experiences with the hotel integration are real world now...

Certainly FP+ isn't fully rolled out.. but why is it every complaint about MM+ always uses 1 piece to throw the whole system out? Is it not possible to take things piece by piece when having an opinion?

I certainly see MyMagic+ as potentially being successful should they "fix" the Fastpass concerns of the masses. It has the potential to be a very beneficial system, even if it's something similar to the "Tamagachi like system" used at Six Flags. I want to see the current distribution rules applied to the new system. That would be a positive given the technology improvement that would eliminate backtracking.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Nah, more about getting more bodies into the resort as is, although there have been plenty of rehabs and cosmetic work done this summer. And now that it is the off-season attractions (Peter pan currently) are going down for for work, so they are not exactly ignoring everything.

But so much needs to be done ... I'll see that firsthand at holiday time!!!

There are plenty of executives in Florida that should be able to move to Paris and come up with a wide array of discounts to get people to go to a stale resort.

 

[novawildcat18]

Most folks here ignored or yawned when I brought up the decision to offer CMs 40% dining discounts at a wide array of locations as a sign of trouble. I wish old pal Tim were here to tell me how wrong I am.

I am just confused, I am on my college program and I haven't heard a think about the 40% off. I've looked everywhere. I would love to know more about it since it's my birthday and my friends and I are planning on going out to dinner tonight.

 

[71jason]

Yes. And I have not heard that date.

But even if that is what they are trying to do, which I see no way they'll achieve but, that only means that MM+ will be available for their resort guests across the board. It still doesn't mean the end of FP or bands for all.

I think I made this clearer in my original post a week or two ago, but exactly. Apologies if my repost was less than clear on that.

 

[Atomicmickey]

Disney's fiscal year end, is end of this month, right? Time to announce some stuff, Disney. Wall Street wants you to . . . . (who cares about the fans?) C'mon, maximize shareholder value by building some, um, ah, STUFF. Yeah, that's it. Stuff.

 

[ford91exploder]

But he wasn't a -------- either, by a much longer shot. He was a good (and faithful) husband, a good father, and treated his employees better than most studio heads of his time. His vices were minor - smoking, profanity (but never in front of women or children) - that kind of thing. It's a little disingenuous to say Walt wasn't a saint "by a long shot" - because then people will assume the worst. People always do.

Walt by all accounts was good to employees and family, However if you were competing with Walt you had a MUCH different opinion as Walt as a competitor was Julius Caesar, Attilla the Hun, Genghis Khan and Patton all rolled up into a single ferocious package. Much different than his early days as a candy butcher on the trains.

 

[ford91exploder]

And this, THIS, is what has hurt Disney the most in terms of company image and the Disney legacy. And it es me off bigtime (mercy, does it show?)

The creative failures were the direct result of the 'numbers oriented' culture

 

[ford91exploder]

This was during a FP+ test? I highly doubt that in the real world of FP+ high demand attractions such as PPF, Splash, Space, and BTM will all be available within a four-hour window. More likely, one will see Space "reservation" for 9:30, Country Bears for noon, Tea Cups for 2pm, and TTA for 5pm.

Consider this: my 9/13 arrival in MK was ~9:20am. I headed to Tomorrowland and FP'd Space. Space had ~10 min standby so I walked on. Then did Buzz (twice) and TTA before cashing in my Space FP. Then did Teacups (walkon). Picked FP for PPF, headed to HM (standby twice). Headed to Splash, picked up FP, rode standby (20 min wait). Rode BTMRR (10 min standby). Headed back to PPF to cash in FP. Haunted Mansion again. Lunch. Headed to Splash to cash in FP. Pirates. Citrus Swirl to eat on the way out of the park.

Total time in the park: ~ 5 hours.
Total FPs used: 4
Total attractions (including repeats): 14

While I did some backtracking, it was not from one end of the park to the other. I kinda backtracked mostly at the "top" of the park (Frontier/Liberty Square/Fantasyland).

I think the MagicMinus system will give the result you suggest, Visits to the 'Mountains' will be standby only with multiple hour waits. We are going to see the 'LeCellier' situation writ large. 180 day dining reservations are an abomination. I can see it for the dinner shows but not TS

 

[ford91exploder]

I certainly see MyMagic+ as potentially being successful should they "fix" the Fastpass concerns of the masses. It has the potential to be a very beneficial system, even if it's something similar to the "Tamagachi like system" used at Six Flags. I want to see the current distribution rules applied to the new system. That would be a positive given the technology improvement that would eliminate backtracking.

Agree - But it was designed for load levelling not guest experience

 

[ford91exploder]

That's interesting because last month they told CM's that there would block-out dates of all cast dining discounts, no 20% discounts, no holiday coupon use for dining, everything would be blocked out in the last part of August and the whole month of September because of the expected guest use of the dining and dining plans. Then after a week goes by in September and the block-outs were lifted and were given more discounts than before.

Methinks their forecasting models are broken, And I think pulling the discounts was partially a Kabuki play to convince analysts that guests were beating down the doors to the resorts, When the customer surge nver materialized TWDC figured correctly that the Analysts would never notice that the discounts were reinstated at a higher level than before because the customers never came.

However everywhere you go you see 30% discounts on deluxe resorts on banner ads, TWDC can't keep up the shell game forever

 

[Funmeister]

I am just confused, I am on my college program and I haven't heard a think about the 40% off. I've looked everywhere. I would love to know more about it since it's my birthday and my friends and I are planning on going out to dinner tonight.

Look on the hub or call DRC.

 

[alphac2005]

Yes, I saw it. I sorta knew Rick in another lifetime and I respect his thoughts greatly. One of the few who truly gets both the creative and financial sides of the business.

What can I say other than I agree with his take? Disney needs to be spending vast sums of money on actual reasons for people to visit WDW. No one in their right mind believes MM+ is going to drive traffic (it might drive some regulars elsewhere though).

I just wish Iger, Rasulo and Staggs would finish plundering already and move on. In three years time when they're gone, just think ...what kind of mess will be left?

For a few laughs, a user by the name of cubsblue23 commenting on the Fool article clearly gives off the vibe that he or she is writing their retort directly from a TDO office.

 

[asianway]

Soooo, did I see right way back there that theres another free blogger cruise coming up for the Magic? Anyone know the dates? My schedule is open.

 

[truecoat]

For a few laughs, a user by the name of cubsblue23 commenting on the Fool article clearly gives off the vibe that he or she is writing their retort directly from a TDO office.

I saw that too. Here's the 5 reasons they believe Uni won't make a dent. If you have a rebuttal to any or all of these, I'll reply on Motley with the best ones....

1. Disney just opened a large resort in Art of Animation nearly as large as all of Universal's existing space. They continue to grow other hotels as well with a Four Season's location coming online soon and their Grand Floridian expansion ready soon.
2. New Fantasyland has boosted Magic Kingdom to a point far beyond any boost Universal can hope to get from a character expansion whose time is past. Top that with the Avatar-land, Star Wars Land and Pixarland expansions coming over the next few years and you have some massive increases in patronage coming to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.
3. Downtown Disney. It has been the repeated drumbeat on the news in Orlando. Universal is using taxpayer funds to build a crosswalk while Disney is using it's own money to revitalize a huge area of Downtown Disney. This is going to improve cashflow in an area that was producing little and at the same time has turned a lot of locals in the Mouse's direction rather than a company that they now see as a moocher.
4. New magic bands are already increasing per customer spending nicely. The inflow from this alone coupled with parks that are full nearly all the time are going to help the bottom line immensely. Disney no longer has a slow season.
5, Space. Disney has room to develop. Walt knew they needed this advantage years ago and it is a major reason that Universal is stuck in a limited growth potential. They are landlocked.
I see Disney at $100,00 in a couple of years and Comcast trying to understand why they got into the Theme Park business.

 

[truecoat]

Also neglected to mention that Disney is still sticking by its 'late 2015' opening for the Shanghai resort.

A friend who was there recently said that almost nothing has been done, but reminded me that this is China where they build cities in less time.

My remark was this is Disney, which takes three years to build kiddie coasters.

Kiddie coaster, how about how long it takes to build a damn bus stop.

 

[WDWDad13]

Kiddie coaster, how about how long it takes to build a damn bus stop.

well in their defense...the new articulated busses are longer than a kiddie coaster track lol jk

 

[CDavid]

Disney just opened a large resort in Art of Animation nearly as large as all of Universal's existing space. They continue to grow other hotels as well with a Four Season's location coming online soon and their Grand Floridian expansion ready soon

The number of rooms Disney has isn't really anything to brag about when they have to resort to steep discounts, like free dining or 30% off rack rates, to fill those rooms. Even with the discounts, there have been reliable reports of deluxe resorts less than half occupied.

New Fantasyland has boosted Magic Kingdom to a point far beyond any boost Universal can hope to get from a character expansion whose time is past

If you really want to talk about "a character expansion whose time is past", see Avatar.

As for Magic Bands (mouse arrest bands), its much too soon to have valid results as to how they will affect guest spending. The test results Disney reports so far are suspect at best, with test subjects at least "encouraged" to spend via the bands. Only after this feature is widely available for some time can guest spending habits really be determined (at most I'd expect a fleeting increase while people "play" with their new band, then quickly rein back in their spending, and maybe not even that).

It also acknowledges the number of stage shows that have been cancelled due to budget cuts. These include The Tarzan Encounter show at the Chaparral Theater, The Legend of the Lion King show at Videopolis and the iconic night-time parade, Disney's Fantillusion!

Not to miss the larger point of the post, but is Disneyland Paris really not operating Fantillusion anymore? If not, I know of a certain Disney park in Florida that is in need of an extra "light" parade. They threw their spare in the dumpster...